Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

The Impact Of Secondary Mathematics Methods Courses On Preservice Secondary Teachers’ Beliefs About The Learning And Teaching Of Mathematics, Ronald Gene Smith Ii

Doctoral Dissertations

The Comprehensive Framework for Teacher Knowledge provides a model that describes an approach to the secondary mathematics methods course, as described by Robert Ronau and P. Mark Taylor. The model includes the orientation of preservice teachers toward mathematics and the teaching of mathematics, which includes the beliefs of the preservice teachers. The first questions deal with identifying the methods used in the methods course to address beliefs. The second set of questions deal with the effects of the methods course on the beliefs that preservice teachers hold on the learning and teaching of mathematics.

The study included 16 different universities …

Affective Socialization Processes In Mathematics Doctoral Study: Gaining Insight From Successful Students, Lauren L Wagener

Doctoral Dissertations

Mathematics has the highest attrition rate among all liberal arts disciplines (and among all disciplines, except for health professions) and the second highest attrition rate of all doctoral programs in the United State. In order to prevent the loss of so many students, mathematics departments must consider the root causes for attrition and determine what individual skills and knowledge and departmental systems and support will help more mathematics doctoral students to succeed. The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to explore the interactions mathematics doctoral candidates at one institution have had during graduate school and the value that the …

Legitimate Peripheral Participation Of Secondary Educators In Scientific Research Experiences: Implications For Teachers' Understanding Of The Nature Of Science And Classroom Teaching, Matthew Phillip Perkins

Doctoral Dissertations

Both of the national reform efforts (AAAS, 1993; NRC, 1996) encouraged teachers to engage in professional development that included authentic scientific research experiences. The Department of Energy developed a program to match teachers with mentor scientists at national laboratories for three consecutive summers. Teachers produced and presented a poster summarizing their research at the conclusion of each summer.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to better understand how scientific research experiences impacted teachers. Six dimensions were examined: trajectory of participation, content knowledge development, mentor relationships, beliefs about the nature of science, teacher confidence, and classroom practice. These …

Professional Development: A Case Study Of Mrs. G, Sharilyn Kay Owens

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a case study of one teacher who participated in a project that investigated the effects of the Texas Instruments NavigatorTM, a wireless communication system on student algebra achievement and related pedagogy. The larger study, Classroom Connectivity in Promoting Mathematics and Science Achievement (CCMS) based at The Ohio State University (OSU), funded by the U. S. Department of Education, involved approximately 120 self-selected participants across the United States. A partial requirement for participation was agreement to attend professional development provided by the CCMS project. The professional development included a week-long summer institute at OSU prior to implementation of …

Factors Related To Student Persistence In A New Residential Stem High School: The Case Of The Tennessee Governor’S Academy For Mathematics And Science, Amy Cinci Sullins

Doctoral Dissertations

Public and private sectors are grappling with decreasing numbers of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals as the need for them rises. State-supported STEM residential high schools may be the premier conduit to educate and socialize students in order to prepare for STEM college majors and careers. Gaining understanding of how these schools can nurture students academically and affectively so that they successfully matriculate to university STEM settings is valuable; however, minimal research exists related to the affective domain in relationship to retention at state-supported STEM residential schools. This exploratory, mixed methods case study describes factors that contribute to …

The Relationship Between Pedagogical Content Knowledge And Mathematics Teacher Questioning Strategies, Lynne Smith Nielsen

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an intense two-week professional development program for middle school mathematics teachers, along with follow-up classroom visits, video review of lessons (with feedback), and two six-hour follow-up sessions each semester would improve teacher questioning strategies and promote higher-level questioning based on Bloom's (1956) Taxonomy of cognitive categories. A second purpose of the study was to determine whether, through reflection and instructor feedback, teachers would gain the ability to involve students in high press questioning situations. The third purpose of the study was to investigate whether relevant professional development would result in an …

Annenberg Rural Challenge Ten Years Later: Looking For A Place For Mathematics In A Rural Appalachia Place-Based Curriculum, Craig Alan Green

Doctoral Dissertations

This quantitative study explored whether or not the mathematics curriculum and instruction of the schools in the TennGaLina cluster were impacted by the place-based educational reform promoted by the Annenberg Rural Challenge. The study focused on the programs of five small rural Southern Appalachian schools. Qualitative methods of grounded theory were used to analyze data from interviews, surveys, and school artifacts.

Agency Of Novice Pre-Service Secondary Science Teachers And The Influences On Their Planning Decisions, Andrea Wentworth Henrie

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined six novice pre-service secondary science teachers’ lesson planning processes when designing instruction while enrolled in a spring education course prior to their student teaching. Six novice pre-service secondary science teachers enrolled in an education course during the spring semester prior to their student teaching. During the course, participants were introduced to the lesson planning software, Tennessee’s Next Generation Tools for Teaching Standards-Based Science, version 1.4 (Jordan & Audet, 2007). This software provides resources, sample lesson plans, and links lesson planning with four science reform documents, Benchmarks for Science Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993, …

Differences In Teacher Qualifications And The Relationship To Middle School Student Achievement In Mathematics, Carrie R. Ferguson

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to compare mathematics teacher preparation and experience to the achievement of middle school students (grades 6–8) on the mathematics section of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Using a theoretical framework, the research examined the extent to which the teacher qualification variables were related to the student achievement. Measures of teacher qualifications included four independent variables: (a) number of mathematics content hours, (b) level of teaching certification, (c) number of years teaching experience, and (d) number of years teaching middle school/junior high mathematics. Participants in this causal-comparative study included 97 teachers and …

The Relationships Of Teachers' Levels Of Technology Integration On Student Achievement In Reading And Mathematics, Valerie S. Fields

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent the level of technology integration of fourth and eighth grade teachers in eleven rural school districts in northeastern Louisiana related to student achievement in reading and mathematics.

The sample consisted of 123 fourth and eighth grade teachers and their students from the eleven rural school districts in northeastern Louisiana. Fifty-eight percent of the teachers represented the fourth grade and 42% of the teachers represented the eighth grade. The teachers served a school age population in which 20% or more was from families with incomes below the poverty line.

Mean …

Efficacy Of Solution-Focused Brief Counseling On Math Assignment Completion And Accuracy In An Elementary School, Jamie Leigh Yarbrough

Doctoral Dissertations

A multiple-baseline-across-participants design was used to evaluate the efficacy of Solution-focused Brief Counseling (SFBC) for six fifth grade students with math assignment completion problems. Weekly 30-minute sessions of SFBC for 5 weeks were sufficient to produce increases in both completion rates (from 29% completion during baseline to 79.63% during treatment) and accuracy rates (from 23.50% during baseline to 50.01% during treatment). Most increases were maintained during a 1 to 3 week follow up period. In addition, the criterion-related validity of Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) was evaluated by comparing predicted completion and accuracy rates to actual achievement. Independent t tests between …

Museum -Based Learning: Informal Learning Settings And Their Role In Student Motivation And Achievement In Science, Julie Ann Holmes

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined changes in student motivation and achievement in science in relationship with a visit to the IDEA Place Experiment Gallery. The study was based on the pretest-posttest control comparison group design with four treatment groups: control, exhibit, lesson, and exhibit/lesson. The sample was 228 sixth grade students from a public north central Louisiana school who were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental groups. Pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest measures of intrinsic motivation and achievement in science were determined using the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory and an achievement test written to measure areas of science incorporated …

A Study Of Calculator Usage On The Mathematics Achievement Of Seventh- And Eighth-Grade Students And On Attitudes Of Students And Teachers, Tracie Bidwell Ellerman

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of calculator usage on the mathematics achievement of seventh and eighth grade students as measured by the Mathematics Concepts and Applications sections of the California Achievement Test. The study also investigated the attitudes of students and teachers toward calculator usage. Student attitudes were measured through responses to the Student Calculator Survey. Teacher attitudes were measured through responses to the Attitude Instrument for Mathematics and Applied Technology-Version II.

Intact classes from two north central Louisiana school systems were assigned randomly to treatment and control groups. The sample consisted of 1070 students …